That’s done 159 times, with one time more added in the KJV when they went with the English idiom and chose, “heart,” to translate psychē.

Okay. Enough of that.

So, what is the heart?

Have you ever been asked this question before, or asked it of yourself?

I have, for myself, developed what I call a, “working definition,” in answer to that question. I felt it necessary to develop this definition because, “the heart,” was becoming central to my understanding. So, in my interpersonal communications, I knew I needed to know exactly what I was thinking when I employed the word, “heart.”

Of course, that doesn’t make my definition of the heart correct, or incorrect, it just means that I have one.

It took a while for me to develop this definition because it required quite a bit of contemplation as I examined my behavior; for I know that there is a link between how I behave and my heart. Do you perceive this link? I am curious.

However, before I type out my definition, I wish to know if I can inspire any of you to think on this question.

Of course, there is not a right or wrong answer - no, not at all.

Please know, then, that if anyone is curious, or inspired, I would so appreciate hearing from him or her their thoughtful answer to the question, “What is the heart?”

Interesting subject. In bible study last night we hit on John 3:8, and here is some of what William Barclay (in his Dailey study bible) said:

Nicodemus was driven back on another defense. In effect he said: “This rebirth about which you talk may be possible; but I can’t understand how it works.” The answer of Jesus depends for its point on the fact that the Greek word for spirit, pneuma (G4151), has two meanings. It is the word for spirit, but it is also the regular word for wind. The same is true of the Hebrew word ruach (H7307); it too means both spirit and wind. So Jesus said to Nicodemus: “You can hear and see and feel the wind (pneuma, G4151); but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going to. You may not understand how and why the wind blows; but you can see what it does. You may not understand where a gale came from or where it is going to, but you can see the trail of flattened fields and uprooted trees that it leaves behind it. There are many things about the wind you may not understand; but its effect is plain for all to see.” He went on, “the Spirit (pneuma, G4151) is exactly the same. You may not know how the Spirit works; but you can see the effect of the Spirit in human lives.”

He (Barclay) also said:

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “I have tried to make things simple for you; I have used simple human pictures taken from everyday life; and you have not understood. How can you ever expect to understand the deep things, if even the simple things are beyond you?” There is a warning here for every one of us. It is easy to sit in discussion groups, to sit in a study and to read books, it is easy to discuss the intellectual truth of Christianity; but the essential thing is to experience the power of Christianity. And it is fatally easy to start at the wrong end and to think of Christianity as something to be discussed, not as something to be experienced. It is certainly important to have an intellectual grasp of the orb of Christian truth; but it is still more important to have a vital experience of the power of Jesus Christ. When a man undergoes treatment from a doctor, when he has to have an operation, when he is given some medicine to take, he does not need to know the anatomy of the human body, the scientific effect of the anaesthetic, the way in which the drug works on his body, in order to be cured. 99 men out of every 100 accept the cure without being able to say how it was brought about. There is a sense in which Christianity is like that. At its heart there is a mystery, but it is not the mystery of intellectual appreciation; it is the mystery of redemption.

I think the heart is something that is not understandable, but we know it when we see it… If that makes any sense.

The Greek word καρδια is used to refer to the physical heart. The English word “cardiac” is derived from that Greek word.

But obviously the New Testament uses the word figuratively. In my opinion, this usage includes the heart as the seat of the emotions, and also the mind.

Evil can proceed out of the heart; thoughts can come from your heart—good or bad.Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.

You can love with your heart:Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Your heart can be troubled:John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled.

There are emotions in the heart:Luke 24:32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
John 16:6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Acts 2:26 therefore my heart was glad…

The heart can have intentions:Acts 8:22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

Answer: First, we’ll state the obvious: this article is not about the heart as a vital organ, a muscle that pumps blood throughout the body. Neither is this article concerned with romantic, philosophical, or literary definitions.

Instead, we’ll focus on what the Bible has to say about the heart. The Bible mentions the human heart almost 300 times. In essence, this is what it says: the heart is that spiritual part of us where our emotions and desires dwell.

Before we look at the human heart, we’ll mention that, since God has emotions and desires, He, too, can be said to have a “heart.” We have a heart because God does. David was a man “after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). And God blesses His people with leaders who know and follow His heart (1 Samuel 2:35; Jeremiah 3:15).

The human heart, in its natural condition, is evil, treacherous and deceitful. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” In other words, the Fall has affected us at the deepest level; our mind, emotions and desires have been tainted by sin—and we are blind to just how pervasive the problem is.

We may not understand our own hearts, but God does. He “knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21; see also 1 Corinthians 14:25). Jesus “knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25). Based on His knowledge of the heart, God can judge righteously: “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10).

Jesus pointed out the fallen condition of our hearts in Mark 7:21-23: “From within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.” Our biggest problem is not external but internal; all of us have a heart problem.

In order for a person to be saved, then, the heart must be changed. This only happens by the power of God in response to faith. “With the heart one believes unto righteousness” (Romans 10:10). In His grace, God can create a new heart within us (Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26). He promises to “revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15).

God’s work of creating a new heart within us involves testing our hearts (Psalm 17:3; Deuteronomy 8:2) and filling our hearts with new ideas, new wisdom, and new desires (Nehemiah 7:5; 1 Kings 10:24; 2 Corinthians 8:16).

The heart is the core of our being, and the Bible sets high importance on keeping our hearts pure: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

If you put into Google “what is the heart got questions”, you will find several related heart answers, from them.

…Jesus said to Nicodemus: “I have tried to make things simple for you; I have used simple human pictures taken from everyday life; and you have not understood. How can you ever expect to understand the deep things, if even the simple things are beyond you?” There is a warning here for every one of us. It is easy to sit in discussion groups, to sit in a study and to read books, it is easy to discuss the intellectual truth of Christianity; but the essential thing is to experience the power of Christianity. And it is fatally easy to start at the wrong end and to think of Christianity as something to be discussed, not as something to be experienced. It is certainly important to have an intellectual grasp of the orb of Christian truth; but it is still more important to have a vital experience of the power of Jesus Christ… There is a sense in which Christianity is like that. At its heart there is a mystery, but it is not the mystery of intellectual appreciation; it is the mystery of redemption.

I think the heart is something that is not understandable, but we know it when we see it… If that makes any sense.

Yes it does. And I will add, “Well said!”

I’ve often asked this question of others and several times I’ve received a reply similar to your’s.

It is good to consider the warning provided here and not go too far one way or the other: to consider Christianity as an intellectual truth apart from the experiential side, and to use only the experience of Christianity as a basis for understanding apart from using reason and logic, which I will call intellect.

As The Words say:

" Come now, and let us reason together," saith the LORD: “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 KJV

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:10 KJV

So, as it is with so much about being a good human being - good at being human - there is a balance between living out the precepts of heaven and the requirements of living on earth.

We were made for the earth and the earth for us. Heaven is not our final destination: a literal New Heaven and a New Earth, wherein God literally dwells with human beings, is our destiny if one trusts the final words to be a literal truth. This is my heart on the matter.

Isaiah had this to say of that time:

“So that he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself by the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from Mine eyes. For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man, that hath not filled his days; for the youngest shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.
And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.They shall not build, and another inhabit, they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree shall be the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for terror; for they are the seed blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” saith the Lord. Isaiah 65:16-25 JPS

I asked myself when I read this: “And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear,” What kind of human being will I have to be that God is willing to respond to me, as quickly as I can speak the words?"

My answer, “A good one!”

Thus, I perceive a powerful link between my heart and being good.

For being human is not a sin. It is exactly what we were created to be!

The problem, as I see it, is that we are not good human beings, good at being human. WE know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, and yet we are unable to realize, on this earth, the ideal such knowledge incorporates into us!

The Greek word καρδια is used to refer to the physical heart. The English word “cardiac” is derived from that Greek word.

But obviously the New Testament uses the word figuratively. In my opinion, this usage includes the heart as the seat of the emotions, and also the mind.

Evil can proceed out of the heart; thoughts can come from your heart—good or bad.Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.

You can love with your heart:Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Your heart can be troubled:John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled.

There are emotions in the heart:Luke 24:32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
John 16:6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Acts 2:26 therefore my heart was glad…

The heart can have intentions:Acts 8:22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

Cool reply. Several of the scriptures you quoted above had a significant impact on me as I came to my understanding of what the heart is. I bolded the text that influenced me.

The only scripture from your selection that confused me, as I contemplated my question, was where two of the Gospel writers, Matthew and Luke, quoted Jesus as listing in the first of the greatest commandments heart, soul and mind together, indicating that these should not be considered as synonymous things. That was a problem.

However, when I read Mark’s quote of Jesus, the final word in the list was, “strength,” not, “mind,” which brought the list to four things that were not synonymous. Mark’s additional word parallels the original appearance of this thought in Deuteronomy 6:5 (NOTE: The second appearance of this thought in Deuteronomy 10:12 is a bit more differentiated for the writer adding serve the LORD along with love the LORD, hence the use of only the two words, heart and soul, in conjunction with the powerful desire we should have toward keeping Jehovah’s commandments).

So, I was led to investigate the difference.

Succinctly expressed, the difference I saw was simply a matter of choosing a word, or words, that indicates the idea that we should employ all the strength of both our physical ability and the strength of our intellect in loving Jehovah, our God. Thus the idea I was developing of what the heart is was upheld because, in my perception, the heart is a separate thing from our intellect, our minds, though I came to perceive that the intellect affects the heart because it gives it what it needs to exist!

At this point, I would ask that you please forgive the abstruse way I am going about this inquiry. I am not intending frustration. You see, what the heart is has become my raison d’etre, and so I wish, with all my might, to present my heart as thoughtfully and precisely as I can. To me, this means I should seek to provoke thoughtfulness in others, first, because in my experiences asking this question I discovered that very few have ever been asked this question, much less coming to a point where they ask it of themselves. Yet we use the word so readily.

So, given the scriptures you selected, may I ask if you perceive a link between what we think and what we do?

The Hebrew word Lebab (3824), rendered “heart” is the seat of desire, inclination, or will and can be the seat of the emotions.

I would also add intuition. It’s important also to note that when we die to self (old ego self) and come into union with agape (humility or the new self)we have a beautiful heart. God takes out the heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

The true self is clothed in the beauty of Christ. As an empty vessel the love and beauty of Christ flow through.

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ~~ Eph. 4:22-24

Calvinist are always saying that they have a wicked heart. But this isn’t true if you are in union with Christ. The heart is the center.

I have forgotten all of Creation
Only the Creator remains
I have turned my attention
to that which is within me
It is there where I am in love
with the Beloved

St. John of the Cross ~~ Roman Catholic

The “Holy Grail” is being in love with love. We drink the wine of love as we come into union with Christ. This is the Beauty of holiness.

The Holy Grail

The scales of justice balance in September
As Michael crushes Satan’s head in death
Ego is cast out, the new self is in union with Christ
Flames of torment destroy the self of the old
I stand on this Holy Mountain of God crucified
Baptized into water, death, and fire, I’m made new
The cup of the Holy Grail infuses precious stones within
As I become drunk on the Beautiful cup of blood
Victory reigns at the core in the Holy land of Eden
In celebration of the marriage with the Lamb
I have fallen madly in love with love